Any help for hip pain?

Hello Everyone,
I'm new to the boards here but have a question regarding pain from having bone rubbing bone in your hip.  I just found out thats what is causing mine to hurt so.  I'm in the process of trying to get a revision from RNY to the DS and hope that I can have that before any hip replacement surgery. 
I go see a specialist January 30th.  What I'm wondering is if anyone has been given medicine or injections that help with the pain?  I'm on some pain meds now - tramadol, and it doesn't help a whole lot.  I'm hoping when I see the specialist that he might be able to prescribe something else or do the shots or something. 
Thanks for the info.

 I had osteomyelitis in my sacroiliac joint 11 years ago...destroyed all the cartilage in the area and it somehow fused which was a blessing since all that bone on bone shifting hurt like the dickens.  My knees are beyond repair.  My hips are getting worse by the minute.  I've never really taken too many drugs but I have taken tramadol, lortab, darvocet and to tell the truth nothing really helped all that much.  Even if I have had some sort of procedure and they gave me stouter stuff, it really didn't totally relieve the pain.  I even found that while taking drugs for pain, I tended to overdo it and then end up in much more pain with nothing to relieve it so I basically gave them up alltogether.  I've about come to the conclusion that nothing REALLY helps bone pain all that much.  I have a sensitive system though.  I haven't tried the shots, from what I have heard they are only temporary and the more you get the more you have to get.  I have also found that over the years that I have become much more used to the pain.  Sometimes I even forget that something hurts until it totally flares up or if I'm in the doctor's office and they ask me and I conciously think of  what is ailing me. I  usually tell them it might be easier if they ask me what does NOT hurt, lol.  In my hips anyway.  My knees scream at me horribly.  So I guess there might be some drugs out there that take the edge off but I haven't found any that give total relief.  Lifestyle changes have helped the most, recognizing your limitations and listening to your body when it hollers at you.  Good luck with finding something and let me know if you do  I haven't had surgery yet and am hoping that will help considerably but I already know I'm in line for a couple of knees...Did you have these problems before surgery and did it help you?

Thanks for responding to my post.  I'm sorry to hear about your problems with your knees and hips.  I also have a problem with one of my knees, but haven't had it x-rayed to see what the problem is yet. 
I agree that lifestyle changes are something that we have to do in this situation.  I've had to give up many things that I was used to doing and enjoyed doing myself, but its hard to walk the isles of Wal-mart for 2 hours when your hip/leg and knees are killing you.
I haven't had any of these problems until about a year or so ago.  When I had my gastric bypass 7 years ago, I was actually heavier then than I am now, but I got around pretty good - no problem with pain at least.  This started coming on when my weight started coming back.  I'm sure that my weight is a big cause of all the problems.  I'm just hoping beyond hope that I will get approved for my revision to DS and then start to lose weight and lose the pain. 
Are you looking into having WLS?  If so, what type are you considering and what surgeon? 
Take care and hope you have a good day.

 Wal-mart is about out of the question...I have to go directly to what I need and get out or get one of those silly carts.  I hope that I am very close to RNY with Dr. Mailapur in Huntsville.  You know, I started having a lot of pain in my hands in 2000-2001 and fiddled around a couple of years chugging ibuprofen before I ever broke down and saw a doc about it.  They sent me a to a rheumatoligist and they x-rayed nearly every joint in my body.  They kept talking about my knees...I kept telling them that my knees were fine.  Funny.  My hips hurt like crap and only seemed to have a small amount of damage and my knees felt fine and apparently looked horrible to them.  Now I understand.  The rheumy told me that the pain occurs while the damage is being done and after the damage is done sometimes the pain lessens.  So apparently I missed the pain in my knees while they were being eaten up with inflammation, but was totally feeling it in my hips and hands.  He was right.  My hands did eventually quit hurting so badly and only hurt when I overdo it or if another joint in them is being affected.  Doesn't change the fact that I did lose quite a bit of use in them but I have adapted to that nicely.  I worked somewhere that had a weight limit and when I started gaining weight, that is when my knees started screaming.  Now I can barely walk 20 feet without having to prop or sit down.  I think maybe keeping my weight down helped my knees and I only began to feel it when I finally gained enough to stress them out.  I had arthoscopy a couple of years ago on one of them because it finally gave out and the ortho just shook his head at what he saw in there.  Basically nothing left to do after this other than replacement.  I guess that is probably what has happened to you.  It was probably lurking and then the added weight may have just been too much.  I tell my docs that I either have to do something or they can just get me a wheelchair.  I prefer to become bionic.  Enough of my life has been taken by this crazy stuff.  Even if I do end up in a wheelchair, at least I will be a skinny person in one, easier for my boys to wag around lol.  People already assume that I can't get around because of the weight...never mind that it is a symptom of the other stuff and not the other way around...I do live in a dream world that if I can get this weight off that it will help tremendously and the docs seem to think so too.  So, for you, I would keep on with your plan because getting that revision and getting the weight off could be beneficial for you.  My rheumy said that even 10 pounds relieves a lot of stress on the joints.  Sorry to rattle on....Have a good one and hope all goes well for you.

I'm so sorry to hear about your pain. I didn't find anything (drugs, therapy, losing weight) that helped with my pain until I had surgery last April. I was in chronic pain and chose WLS before my hip replacement but I'm not sure I would do that again since I had to wait so long to qualify for my WLS and then wanted to wait 6 months afterwards for my body to heal.

I'd be very happy to discuss my total hip replacement. Being thin is great but being able to walk is even better.

Good luck to you.

Hi Kathie,
I was wondering if losing the weight would help with the pain.  I've heard others say it did somewhat.  I'm having problems with my insurance not wanting to approve my revision to the DS surgery, so I don't know how long that might be.  I guess my thoughts are if I could have it first and lose some weight, my leg/hip would feel better and I could walk better.  But, after reading your post, I realize thats not a definite thing.  I'm scheduled to see a specialist at the end of January and was hoping he could try a different medicine or some kind of therapy or something. 
I'd like to hear more about your hip replacement.  Was it harder to recover from it being heavy?  I worry about that since I am very heavy and have a high BMI.  But as you say, being able to walk is the best thing and thats getting harder and harder for me to do.  Plus, I have my own flower/gift shop and I am so worried I'm not going to be able to continue doing that if I don't get something done soon.  So, please email me ([email protected]) and tell me about your experience - I would love to hear from you.  Thanks so much for responding to my post. 

Take care,

Yes losing wt will help but damage done is damage done ya know? I went to the rheumy and they gave my cortisone shots and Skelaxin. which is fabulous to me. Non drowsy and I can still function like a mom of 4 who works.

Hi Jessica,
Thanks for the info about the Skelaxin.  When I see the doctor this next week, I'll ask him about that if it turns out that we don't do hip surgery first.  I had also wondered about the cortisone shots and had heard they helped some people.  Hope I have these options.

I need both hips replaced and I have never found a drug that will help much with the pain of osteoarthritis.  I really dislike the commercials on tv for aleve and other such drugs that show people dancing the night away after taking their product.  Never works that way for me.  I use a walker to just get around our apartment and I spend most of my time, even sleeping, in a lift chair to assist me in getting up.  I take etodolac as an anti-inflamatory, not that it really does much.

Unfortunately, I do have to wait for wls and hopefully a huge weight loss, before I can have my hip replacements as no one will approve me for the hip replacement surgery at my current weight. 

I wish you good luck in your journey!

Beverly

Hi Beverly,
I'm sorry to hear about your pain in both your hips.  I can imagine how very painful that is.  I know with just my one, it is awful.  It is my left hip but my right knee also hurts, so I'm wondering if that could be from putting too much weight on that leg due to the other one hurting.  I use a can to walk with but believe me - there are times that I think a walker would be better. 
I am also going to see about getting a lift chair.  I go to see a specialist this Friday and will bring it up to him.  I'm just hoping and praying that he will offer me some options.  He may not even want to do the surgery yet, and prefer to wait until I have my revision weight loss surgery.  Do you know how long you are going to have to wait to have your wls?  I have been denied twice already and have hired an appeals specialist.  She is taking care of it now and I have more hope. 
I hope you're doing good and would like to talk with you more, so if you'd care to, leave me a message here or you can send one to me directly.  I'm sure we have a lot in common with these problems and maybe we can provide a little support for each other.  Take care.